If you were asked to spend $50 and give up a credit card number, would you do it to a site that you were not convinced was 100% legit? Of course not! Then why would anyone begin their financial future with a free site. It just does not make sense.

The good news, you don't have to spend a lot of money to create a professional look and feel. It starts with less than $20 per year as a matter of fact.

Register a domain name. It's that simple. When selecting a domain name, follow these rules:

1. Try to include your business name or your marketing keywords in your domain name.
2. Select a domain name that is simple to remember. For example, quick-money.com will be a better marketing tool then fortydaystogetrichquick.com.
3. Hyphenate your domain name if it's long.

Your domain name is your Internet phone number. Many of the same rules apply. Get a number that is easy to remember or spells your business name.

Before you run out and register a domain name, you may want to review the How to Pick a Web Host article. Compare the hosting companies and determine if they are willing to throw the domain name registration into the cost of the hosting account.

The following resources are available to help you find the perfect domain name:

Stoco.net has a free tool to check for domain name availability:

Stoco.net Domain Lookup

DirectNic offers a tool to assist in the search for the perfect domain name:

DirectNic Domain Lookup

About the Author

John Stone is the founder of Stoco.net, a service based
Internet site dedicated to delivering solutions for the
small business owner. John has released several commercial
software products and provides web hosting at discount
prices. Software products include small utilities for
organizations, automation and web site control including
Publication Manager (an Email Autoresponder) and Ad
Manager (a web page automation tool). John is also
recognized as a Perl automation expert and offers
advice to the Internet newbie through Stoco.net
and MaxTrafficExchange.com.